Once again Vilamoura hosted an excellent boat show catering for all levels of interest.

Below we take a look around the highlights…..

Vilamoura is an ideal place to live with over 300 days of sunshine a year, a safe environment very eco friendly. Long term rentals are a great method of getting a taste for the area before buying to for those wanting to spend a large part of the year here.

Norton & Mackenzie offer a comprehensive portfolio of property management, long term rentals and quality holiday lets in Vilamoura.

In addition we are fully conversant with the new law regarding renting out holiday properties in Portugal should you require advice about getting a license and being compliant. Previously there were no active checks carried out, no action actually taken and hence no penalties transpiring. Under the new regime the authorities have full transparency from analysing internet advertising to physical visits to properties to check who is in residence. More importantly they have the resource to do this which the local councils never had. There is evan a liaison between the tax office and utility Companies to cross check consumption in “empty” properties.

Norton & Mackenzie offer a comprehensive portfolio of property management, long term rentals and quality holiday lets in Vilamoura.

In addition we are fully conversant with the new law regarding renting out holiday properties in Portugal should you require advice about getting a license and being compliant. Previously there were no active checks carried out, no action actually taken and hence no penalties transpiring. Under the new regime the authorities have full transparency from analysing internet advertising to physical visits to properties to check who is in residence. More importantly they have the resource to do this which the local councils never had. There is evan a liaison between the tax office and utility Companies to cross check consumption in “empty” properties.

Posted on 28 January 2018 | Comments Off on Fancy escaping dull skies and cold weather? How about moving to the Algarve?

Fancy escaping dull skies and cold weather? How about moving to the Algarve?

Fancy drawing your pension tax free? The government here has an approved scheme to attract retirees for which you may qualify.

The Algarve which represents the southern coastline of Portugal is becoming an increasingly desirable place to work or retire to with it’s unique micro climate offering 300+ days of sunshine per year.

Average days are blue skies and comfortable temperatures.

As the main industry is tourism most people you would encounter living in the Algarve speak English and so whilst it is desirable to learn the mother tongue of your chosen Country it is not essential.

The flight time from the UK, Ireland and most of Northern Europe is only a few hours meaning that family and friends can be here in the Algarve in no time and of course, if necessity dictates a visit back home you can be there with little effort. (Trust us you won’t choose to go!)

Now of course you have to decide where to live and in what type of property. If you are coming to work in the Algarve, the where may already be dictated and your personal finances may dictate the type of property.

With regard to geography we are biased to the Central Algarve and in particular to the Vilamoura area, a cosmopolitan town built around an award winning international marina and served by 6 championship golf courses.

When it comes to your home in Portugal, you basically have 2 choices, buy or rent. To buy there is any number of estate agents happy to help but Long Term Rental in the Algarve Portugal is a very popular choice here.

Even if you are in a position to buy it may be best to consider Long Term renting in Portugal first to ensure that you have made the right decision without an immediate financial commitment!

So choosing to rent one of our Long Term lets in Portugal is a great way to sample the many wonders of life in the Algarve.

The Algarve was recently voted “Europe’s Leading Beach Destination” at the World Travel Awards, and once here you will see why with a total of 313 individually named beaches along the coast.

For golfing enthusiasts there are 39 golf courses within 45 minutes drive of Vilamoura and 6 excellent courses around the town itself.

The Portuguese people in the main are very family orientated and social standards can be compared to the UK in a former time and the crime rate is significantly lower.

So the best way to sample living in Europe’s best kept secret paradise is to try one of our Long Term Rentals in Portugal Algarve.

Posted on 17 January 2018 | Comments Off on Once upon a time there was no Vilamoura…

Once upon a time there was no Vilamoura.

The tranch of land which is now Vilamoura once known as Morgado farm was bought by the founder Cupertino Miranda back in 1970. The development of the marina and the first golf course began and the rest is history.

Below is a photographic progression of the development to what we know and love today:

Just farm land

Excavation of the marina begins

The Sailing yacht “Giralda” owned by the Count of Barcelona was the first vessel to enter the new marina.

Others follow.

Construction of the first apartments, shops, bars & restaurants.

This is the row that will later be home to Figo’s, the Irish Cabin and the Atlantic bar.

Ready and waiting.

The town develops the boat population expands.

Construction of the Tivoli Hotel commences

The hotel is complete but still no “Pyramid” building (Marina Garden) where the Brewery now is.

Pyramid building & Hotel conference centre complete.

18 years ago, other than the rebuilding of the hotel conference centre little change.

Norton & Mackenzie offer a comprehensive portfolio of property management, long term rentals and quality holiday lets in Vilamoura.

In addition we are fully conversant with the new law regarding renting out holiday properties in Portugal should you require advice about getting a license and being compliant. Previously there were no active checks carried out, no action actually taken and hence no penalties transpiring. Under the new regime the authorities have full transparency from analysing internet advertising to physical visits to properties to check who is in residence. More importantly they have the resource to do this which the local councils never had. There is evan a liaison between the tax office and utility Companies to cross check consumption in “empty” properties.

By now every property owner in Portugal will have received their IMI tax demand for the year 2016.

Having received our own demand we were pleasantly surprised to find it had dropped dramatically from last year by 21%.

This applies to the Municipality of Loule who have reduced the rate from 0.38% to 0.30% of the “rateable value” (not the market price, in many cases typically half the current market price). We don’t know what other Councils have done.

The above applies to those with property with “rateable values” (Patrimonial Value) below €600k, remember not “market price.”

If you fall into the €601 -€1,000,000 bracket they have added an additional tax of 0.7% on the amount over €600,000 and for those over €1m there is also an additional tax of 1% on the value over the €1m leval although this is actually a reduction on the previous amount.

If your property is owned via an Offshore Company which is “White Listed” you pay an additional fee of 0.4% but if your Offshore Company is in a “Black Listed” territory you pay a whopping 7.5% per year.

When you as an individual are assessed for your liability it is your share of the property that is taken into account in the case of joint ownership but also is the sum of all properties you own.

Norton & Mackenzie offer a comprehensive portfolio of property management, long term rentals and quality holiday lets in Vilamoura.

In addition we are fully conversant with the new law regarding renting out holiday properties in Portugal should you require advice about getting a license and being compliant. Previously there were no active checks carried out, no action actually taken and hence no penalties transpiring. Under the new regime the newly appointed authorities (ASAE) have full transparency from analysing internet advertising to physical visits to properties to check who is in residence. More importantly they have the resource to do this which the local councils never had. There is evan a liaison between the tax office and utility Companies to cross check consumption in “empty” properties.

If you’re a fan of the Porsche Marque or just performance cars in general this may be for you.

Saturday the 8th July and Sunday the 9th July will see a massing of Porsche owners as they race in Cascais, Evora and Portimao, headed up by Mark Webber.

There are several stages:

Regularity Stages

The regularity stages between Cascais and Évora (Stage 1) and Évora and Portimão (Stage 2) will be held on the open road, on a secret itinerary. The course will be revealed in the roadbook provided at the briefing on the morning of 8 July 2017.

As there are regularity stages and navigation stages, the participating teams must be made up of a driver and a navigator. The participants in this rally must complete the stages within the time set by the organisation, have their navigation cards stamped at the way points marked in the roadbook and comply strictly with the rules of the road.

Power Street Stage

The City of Évora will play host to one of the most newsworthy car events on the afternoon of 8 July. There is a show area in the centre of the town where the public will have the opportunity to see and applaud all the participants in this trial.

The Power Street Stage is a time trial held on a closed stretch of road, putting the drivers, navigators and the best cars ever to the test! The times recorded in this super special will dictate the trial classification and give points towards the general event classification.

Timed Slalom

As used to happen in the mythical Rally of Portugal in the 1980s, the slalom will be recreated on the finishing stretch of the Algarve International Racing Circuit. This is a timed trial for all the participants registered in the Sport Plus Pack.

Porsche Club Portugal 25-year Challenge

In the year marking the 25th anniversary of Porsche Club Portugal, the organisers of the Iberian Porsche Meeting decided to pay homage to the club with a trial called the Porsche Club Portugal 25-year Challenge.

This trial is reserved for the owners of Porsches registered in the event and that have acquired the Sport Pack. The vehicles taking part in the trial must have their main original characteristics, use radial tyres and not have any changes made to the engine and bodywork.

This Porsche Club Portugal 25-year Challenge will consist of 30 minutes of free training, 15 minutes of timed training and one 7-lap trial. At the end, the general classification will be posted, as well as the classification for the different classes (see regulations).

Porsche Racing Challenge

Ferdinand Porsche, known for his highly innovative projects, designed technologically advanced cars and with them beat countless speed records. Sport was a characteristic closely linked to his cars and the most appropriate place to use them was undoubtedly on the speed circuits.

And to put the icing on the cake for the Iberian Porsche Meeting, the organisers came up with a race open to all competition Porsches. This challenge is for drivers who own classics, cup cars from different generations, GT3 or even GT2 versions, with no age limit or restrictions.

These sports Porsches will be in the different categories defined in the trial regulations and the classifications will be given according to each one of the classes.

For more information contact info@iberianporschemeeting.com or 214 606 510

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Norton & Mackenzie offer a comprehensive portfolio of property management, long term rentals and quality holiday lets in Vilamoura and have been established for over 10 years..

In addition they are fully conversant with the new law regarding renting out holiday properties in Portugal should you require advice about getting a license and being compliant. Previously there were no active checks carried out, no action actually taken and hence no penalties transpiring. Under the new regime the ASAE who carry out compliance checks on restaurants, bars, clubs and offices have been appointed to “police” properties. They have full transparency from analysing internet advertising to physical visits to properties to check who is in residence. More importantly they have the resource to do this which the local councils never had. There is evan a liaison between the tax office and utility Companies to cross check consumption in “empty” properties.

Norton & Mackenzie offer a comprehensive portfolio of property management, long term rentals and quality holiday lets in Vilamoura and have been established for over 10 years..

In addition they are fully conversant with the new law regarding renting out holiday properties in Portugal should you require advice about getting a license and being compliant. Previously there were no active checks carried out, no action actually taken and hence no penalties transpiring. Under the new regime the ASAE who carry out compliance checks on restaurants, bars, clubs and offices have been appointed to “police” properties. They have full transparency from analysing internet advertising to physical visits to properties to check who is in residence. More importantly they have the resource to do this which the local councils never had. There is evan a liaison between the tax office and utility Companies to cross check consumption in “empty” properties.

To many it seems as though this has been going on forever! In fact it only started in July 2011 a mere 5 ½ years ago! The plan is to finish it by the forthcoming “season”, let’s hope so otherwise Summer is going to be chaos.

What actually is going on?

The key objective is:

Increase the capacity from 2,400 passengers per hour to 3,000 passengers per hour

This will up the annual target of 6 million passengers to 8 million per year.

To do this the passenger processing facilities have to be expanded, as do the parking / car hire facilities.

To support this the commercial operations will be expanded, as in more shops, food outlets and offices.

The result will be a larger terminal footprint with 2 fully occupied floors as the images below:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Norton & Mackenzie offer a comprehensive portfolio of property management, long term rentals and quality holiday lets in Vilamoura and have been established for over 10 years..

In addition they are fully conversant with the new law regarding renting out holiday properties in Portugal should you require advice about getting a license and being compliant. Previously there were no active checks carried out, no action actually taken and hence no penalties transpiring. Under the new regime the ASAE who carry out compliance checks on restaurants, bars, clubs and offices have been appointed to “police” properties. They have full transparency from analysing internet advertising to physical visits to properties to check who is in residence. More importantly they have the resource to do this which the local councils never had. There is evan a liaison between the tax office and utility Companies to cross check consumption in “empty” properties.

Norton & Mackenzie offer a comprehensive portfolio of property management, long term rentals and quality holiday lets in Vilamoura.

In addition we are fully conversant with the new law regarding renting out holiday properties in Portugal should you require advice about getting a license and being compliant. Previously there were no active checks carried out, no action actually taken and hence no penalties transpiring. Under the new regime the newly appointed authorities (ASAE) have full transparency from analysing internet advertising to physical visits to properties to check who is in residence. More importantly they have the resource to do this which the local councils never had. There is evan a liaison between the tax office and utility Companies to cross check consumption in “empty” properties.

The Super Yacht Radiant arrived at Vilamoura yesterday but you won’t see her in the Marina, she’s too big being 110m long!

She has a crew of 22 to look after the 20 guests she can accommodate.

The owner, a car dealer from the United Arab Emirates paid 280 million dollars for her including the helipad, gym, spa etc. and the extreme security systems, allegedly being fitted with an “escape” launch a speedboat capable of 75 knots, an arsenal of sonic guns that fire low frequency sound waves to pierce the eardrums of approaching assailants and a military water cannon capable of sinking an approaching boat at more than 100 meters.

Originally commissioned by Boris Berezovsky in an attempt to upstage Roman Abramovitch he allegedly didn’t keep up the payments and so she was sold on.

Norton & Mackenzie offer a comprehensive portfolio of property management, long term rentals and quality holiday lets in Vilamoura.

In addition we are fully conversant with the new law regarding renting out holiday properties in Portugal should you require advice about getting a license and being compliant. Previously there were no active checks carried out, no action actually taken and hence no penalties transpiring. Under the new regime the newly appointed authorities (ASAE) have full transparency from analysing internet advertising to physical visits to properties to check who is in residence. More importantly they have the resource to do this which the local councils never had. There is evan a liaison between the tax office and utility Companies to cross check consumption in “empty” properties.

Whilst not sounding as sexy as “Route 66” Portugal’s “EN 2” is apparently the world’s third longest road after Route 40 in Argentina (5,000 km) and the afore mentioned 66 (3945km) coming in at 738.5km.

It cuts through the Country from North to South starting almost at the northern border with Spain at the XIVth century Castle Chaves and heading south to the sea at Faro, crossing 4 mountain ranges and 11 rivers.

There are moves afoot to promote this 71 year old road as a tourist attraction for those who like to tour and with Faro having one of the most famous motor cycle clubs in Europe this looks promising.

Norton & Mackenzie offer a comprehensive portfolio of property management, long term rentals and quality holiday lets in Vilamoura.

In addition we are fully conversant with the new law regarding renting out holiday properties in Portugal should you require advice about getting a license and being compliant. Previously there were no active checks carried out, no action actually taken and hence no penalties transpiring. Under the new regime the newly appointed authorities (ASAE) have full transparency from analysing internet advertising to physical visits to properties to check who is in residence. More importantly they have the resource to do this which the local councils never had. There is evan a liaison between the tax office and utility Companies to cross check consumption in “empty” properties.

As part of the continuing enhancement of Vilamoura in Portugal’s Algarve Broadway Malyan world wide architects founded in Weybridge (UK) in 1958 will be designing the new Yacht Club for the Marina.

The 825 berth facility has twice running won the International Marina of the Year in 2015 & 2016 awarded by The Yacht Harbour Association (TYHA) at the London Boat Show.

The Iconic design is intended to further raise the Marina’s profile in the world of luxury boating which is proving a magnet for both those who wish to holiday in style or in fact live in a beautiful enviroment. Long Term Rentals in Vilamoura are proving ever more popular particularly amongst those wishing to take advantage of Portugal’s preferential treatment of retirees with foreign pensions, the so called Non Habitual Tax Resident status where ex pats can receive a 10 year tax holiday.

Norton & Mackenzie offer a comprehensive portfolio of property management, long term rentals and quality holiday lets in Vilamoura.

In addition we are fully conversant with the new law regarding renting out holiday properties in Portugal should you require advice about getting a license and being compliant. Previously there were no active checks carried out, no action actually taken and hence no penalties transpiring. Under the new regime the newly appointed authorities (ASAE) have full transparency from analysing internet advertising to physical visits to properties to check who is in residence. More importantly they have the resource to do this which the local councils never had. There is evan a liaison between the tax office and utility Companies to cross check consumption in “empty” properties.

Norton & Mackenzie offer a comprehensive portfolio of property management, long term rentals and quality holiday lets in Vilamoura.

In addition we are fully conversant with the new law regarding renting out holiday properties in Portugal should you require advice about getting a license and being compliant. Previously there were no active checks carried out, no action actually taken and hence no penalties transpiring. Under the new regime the newly appointed authorities (ASAE) have full transparency from analysing internet advertising to physical visits to properties to check who is in residence. More importantly they have the resource to do this which the local councils never had. There is evan a liaison between the tax office and utility Companies to cross check consumption in “empty” properties.

Posted on 14 January 2016 | Comments Off on Algarve Mediterranean Garden Show

June will see the first ever major gardening show in the Algarve. The show ground will occupy 2.5 hectares of the grounds of the 5 star Vila Vita Parc Resort & Spa at Porches.

Spread over 2 days, Saturday the 11th & Sunday the 12th of June 2016 the event will see some of Europe’s top garden designers going head to head in a competition to win the Anneliese Pohl Award for the Best Show Garden. In addition there will be flower arranging competitions and demonstrations, art and sculpture exhibitions, live musical and theatrical entertainment as well as live cooking demonstrations from VILA VITA’s own Michelin starred Executive Chef, Hans Neuner. World renowned gardening celebrities will introduce and compare the internationally televised show, the like of which has never been seen before in Portugal.

All around the show ground will be stalls by all kinds of related suppliers to be perused as you can see below:

The event has been conceived and organised by the English language magazine Mediterranean Gardening and Outdoor Living which strives to unravel the complex and often confusing world of gardening here in the Mediterranean, in cooperation with Vila Vita Parc.

Norton & Mackenzie offer a comprehensive portfolio of property management, long term rentals and quality holiday lets in Vilamoura.

In addition we are fully conversant with the new law regarding renting out holiday properties in Portugal should you require advice about getting a license and being compliant. Previously there were no active checks carried out, no action actually taken and hence no penalties transpiring. Under the new regime the newly appointed authorities (ASAE) have full transparency from analysing internet advertising to physical visits to properties to check who is in residence. More importantly they have the resource to do this which the local councils never had. There is evan a liaison between the tax office and utility Companies to cross check consumption in “empty” properties.

Posted on 2 January 2016 | Comments Off on Vilamoura Development Starts

The first project of the re kindled development of Vilamoura is scheduled to start this month, January 2016. It is phase 2 of the L’Orangerie next to Victoria Golf Course. The whole condominium will cover 70,000 m² and this crescent shaped section consists of 21,569 m².

Being built are 6 x 3 bedroomed Villas with their own pools, 18 x 2 bedroomed villas with private gardens and an inner courtyard and 8 x apartments ranging from 1 to 3 beds.

Norton & Mackenzie offer a comprehensive portfolio of property management, long term rentals and quality holiday lets in Vilamoura.

In addition we are fully conversant with the new law regarding renting out holiday properties in Portugal should you require advice about getting a license and being compliant. Previously there were no active checks carried out, no action actually taken and hence no penalties transpiring. Under the new regime the newly appointed authorities (ASAE) have full transparency from analysing internet advertising to physical visits to properties to check who is in residence. More importantly they have the resource to do this which the local councils never had. There is evan a liaison between the tax office and utility Companies to cross check consumption in “empty” properties.

Posted on 1 January 2016 | Comments Off on Parcels sent from the UK to Portugal

Missing Christmas presents?

Many people have trouble receiving parcels sent by family or internet shops such as Amazon here in Portugal, below we try to offer some information and advice:

When people in the UK go to the Post Office ie the Royal Mail to send a parcel to Portugal there are a few options available, for future reference we recommend you always choose one which provides you with a “Tracking Number” sometimes called a bar code. This is a 13 character reference starting with 2 letters then 9 numbers and then 2 letters. If the sender gives you this number you can track the progress on the Royal Mail website:

I say supposed to work because they are totally dependent on the address being exactly correct. Plus if they cannot actually knock on your door or ring your bell (for instance if you live in a condominium without a good doorbell system) or you are not in they have a dilemma. If you have a mailbox which is clearly marked they will leave a card in there saying what they have done with the parcel. It could be left with a neighbor if there is one, or most likely left at a local shop which acts as a “Parcel Shop” as well as carrying on it’s own business. In the case of Vilamoura it is a stationers in Quarteira called Papelnet, it will stay there for 9 days and then be sent back to the GLS depot. If they cannot find your house or your mail box they will return the parcel to their depot. If the parcel is not collected it will eventually be returned to sender.

As they are a huge operation carrying thousands of parcels you can’t get anywhere on the phone without a reference number. Having said that their Portuguese land line number is 707200607 and they can speak English if you ask. Their website has a facility to locate the nearest depot or parcel shop to you. If you are using their website there is a facility to change to English by clicking EN at the top right of each page.

Here is the crux. We have found that if the driver has a Portuguese phone number for you they will ring you and arrange to meet. We always instruct family to make the phone number part of the address so it is on the label stuck to the parcel. Our driver regognises the fact that it is a Portuguese mobile and uses his initiative to ring it. I believe Amazon actually have a place in the address fields for a phone number.

Below I show a real case of one of my Christmas presents, sent from Southampton (It was addressed to our office but this was closed for Christmas so a card was left in the post box and it was collected from the parcel shop next day)

Royal Mail website first, read from the bottom up:

Once the parcel arrived at the first GLS depot their site starts to show the progress updated as the parcel moves: (read from the bottom up)

Norton & Mackenzie offer a comprehensive portfolio of property management, long term rentals and quality holiday lets in Vilamoura.

In addition we are fully conversant with the new law regarding renting out holiday properties in Portugal should you require advice about getting a license and being compliant. Previously there were no active checks carried out, no action actually taken and hence no penalties transpiring. Under the new regime the newly appointed authorities (ASAE) have full transparency from analysing internet advertising to physical visits to properties to check who is in residence. More importantly they have the resource to do this which the local councils never had. There is evan a liaison between the tax office and utility Companies to cross check consumption in “empty” properties.

Norton & Mackenzie offer a comprehensive portfolio of property management, long term rentals and quality holiday lets in Vilamoura.

In addition we are fully conversant with the new law regarding renting out holiday properties in Portugal should you require advice about getting a license and being compliant. Previously there were no active checks carried out, no action actually taken and hence no penalties transpiring. Under the new regime the newly appointed authorities (ASAE) have full transparency from analysing internet advertising to physical visits to properties to check who is in residence. More importantly they have the resource to do this which the local councils never had. There is evan a liaison between the tax office and utility Companies to cross check consumption in “empty” properties.

An original copy of the Magna Carta an 800-year-old charter, handwritten in Latin, which limited the power of the monarch and established human rights for everyone in England will be on display at Lisbon’s national archives from December 7 to 12.

It was signed by King John in 1215 in Runnymede, Surrey. Only four copies of the original 1215 Magna Carta remain in existence today, though it was updated through the years until the 17th century, and is believed to have influenced early American colonists and the formation of the American Constitution in 1787.

Norton & Mackenzie offer a comprehensive portfolio of property management, long term rentals and quality holiday lets in Vilamoura.

In addition we are fully conversant with the new law regarding renting out holiday properties in Portugal should you require advice about getting a license and being compliant. Previously there were no active checks carried out, no action actually taken and hence no penalties transpiring. Under the new regime the newly appointed authorities (ASAE) have full transparency from analysing internet advertising to physical visits to properties to check who is in residence. More importantly they have the resource to do this which the local councils never had. There is evan a liaison between the tax office and utility Companies to cross check consumption in “empty” properties.

Sunday the 29th of November sees a major day for athletics in Vilamoura. There are actually 2 events a triathlon comprising a 21.1 km run, 1.9 km swim and a 91.5 km bike ride. The second is a Half Marathon.

As with all triathlons the first part is the swim and the participants will start from Vilamoura beach in front of Buzio’s bar at 10:00am. The route takes them almost 2 km between the walls of Vilamoura marina and Quarteira marina. They then transition from the beach to the 91.5 km bike ride heading out of town up towards Loule. Once back from the ride they transition to the run taking in both Quarteira beach front and Vilamoura marina.

Any one interested in watching will find the beach a good place to watch the start and anywhere on the Marina good for the final part.

Norton & Mackenzie offer a comprehensive portfolio of property management, long term rentals and quality holiday lets in Vilamoura.

In addition we are fully conversant with the new law regarding renting out holiday properties in Portugal should you require advice about getting a license and being compliant. Previously there were no active checks carried out, no action actually taken and hence no penalties transpiring. Under the new regime the newly appointed authorities (ASAE) have full transparency from analysing internet advertising to physical visits to properties to check who is in residence. More importantly they have the resource to do this which the local councils never had. There is evan a liaison between the tax office and utility Companies to cross check consumption in “empty” properties.